Turn Back the Clock
by Echo-XIII
Summary: The future of Earth is an apocalyptic world controlled by the Reach. A young girl is on mission that she barely knows anything about. The only lead she has are the last words her father said to her, "Turn back the clock". Will she be able to figure out how or will she need some help? Hopefully she will be able figure that out before she ends up being captured by the Reach.
1. Chapter 1

Echo: First time doing a story for Young Justice. Hopefully, at least one person likes it...

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

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The only sound that filled the room was the pages of books being turned before being put on the floor or on top of another book. Thankfully, the sounds were rather quiet. Seeing as she was in a library, it was almost ironic.

Stacks of books surrounded a girl in a black hoodie. She was the reason for sound in the otherwise empty building. Stumbling across this library had been pure luck, especially since there were still plenty of books on the shelves. It was almost unheard of as many libraries only had bare shelves that were once filled with books.

Living in an apocalyptic world was completely different than everything in books and movies. The most popular themes were zombies, robots, and aliens. Robots and zombies were almost laughable. The girl couldn't help but wonder if the world would look like one giant battlefield if zombies or robots had been involved.

"Probably just the robots…" She muttered as she place yet another book behind her.

Sure, there were robots, but they were being controlled by the Reach.

If anyone had out money on an alien apocalypse, then they would be rich. Not that it would matter in this world. All money was useless, unless it was being used to keep a fire burning. Unfortunately, so were most books. That's why she had been surprised to find this library with so many books intact.

The Reach aliens didn't want humans learning. It wasn't much of a problem seeing as most were more concerned with keeping warm and just used books as firewood. The Reach just didn't want humans to have enough knowledge and hope to fight back like they once did before.

Sighing, she picked up the next book in the pile in front of her. There had to be some useful information in one of these books. Sure, there was plenty of information, just not the kind she was looking for.

It was hard looking for information when all she had to go on was 'turn back the clock'. The last words she had heard from her father before he went off to fight. She couldn't even remember how long it had been. Only that it had been far too long and that both her parents were probably dead.

It was a thought, she hated; even if it was probably the truth. She could dream that they were in a work camp or even held captive as prisoners somewhere. But, for the most part it was just wishful thinking.

Hours had past and she ended up falling asleep on the floor. The recent book she had been reading was now being used as a pillow. Her lack of sleep had finally gotten a hold of her. After all, sleep was on luxury she couldn't take, as much as she would like to.

It was only when the sound of something crashing down did she wake up. Quickly sitting up, she turned around; looking over the stacks of books she had created around herself. Making a blockade out of the books had been unintentional, though it had made her feel safer.

As she scanned the area, she reached behind her, picked up a dagger. Gripping the handle of the dagger tightly, made her feel safer. Well, as safe as she could be in this world.

Shifting slightly, the tension was started to eat away at her. Something had made that noise and she wasn't going to wait any longer for it to come find her. Standing up, she carefully made her way out from behind the shelter of books.

She didn't make it far before hearing another loud crash. Something was defiantly in here and whatever it was, was not an animal. That much she could tell. Almost all animals had retreated away from the decaying cities. Whatever was left of the forests became their new home.

If it was a human like herself, she could probably handle them. The same would go for a Reach alien, hopefully. Though, she would probably run. She didn't need to end up on some wanted list. Staying beneath the radar was working so far and she hoped it stayed that way. However, she knew that if it was a patrol robot she would need to make a run for it.

As she moved closer to the wall, she placed her free hand against the wall and raised her other hand with the dagger in front of her. She narrowed her gaze as she grew closer to the next room.

With a breath she didn't realize she was holding, she nearly gasped at what she saw. In the next room was a patrol robot, most likely the one that was knocking everything around, a Reach and a human with a control collar around his neck.

"Are you sure you saw one of your filthy kind enter this place?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm sure!"

Placing a hand over her mouth, she repeated every single swear she knew in her mind. Tightening her grip on her dagger, she slowly started to back away. She needed to get out of here as fast as she could. And with those three blocking the front entrance she needed to find another way to leave.

With a mission to complete and the last thing she needed was to have a control collar be put around her neck and tossed in a working camp. Even if she wasn't a meta-human the control collar could still shock her.

The next thing she knew, she tripped over a piece of rubble. That had been painful and not at all quiet. They had obviously heard her in the other room. Quickly standing up, she made sure she had her dagger before making a run for it, ignoring the shouting of the Reach alien.

However it was hard to ignore the loud footsteps of the patrol robot as it walked at a fast pace. She found it even harder to ignore the patrol robot as it started to fire lasers after her…

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Echo: Well, I'm going to end it right there for now. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Echo: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and decided to follow this story! I'm glad you like it so far. So here's chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

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_However it was hard to ignore the loud footsteps of the patrol robot as it walked at a fast pace. It was even harder to ignore the patrol robot as it started to fire lasers after her…_

"Crap!" She shouted as a laser struck the floor near her feet. This was one of the few times she wished she was a meta-human, particularly one who could either fly or run fast. Making her escape would be much easier then. But life was never easy, more so now than ever before.

She glanced back quickly before turning left down a hallway. There were three things on her mind at the moment.

Number one, find a way out.

Number two, put as much distance between her and the patrol robot as possible.

And most important was number three, don't get caught.

If she was caught they would stick a control collar on her, question her and then toss her in a work camp with constant supervision. That was one of her worst nightmares. After her parents were gone she had lived with some refugees, hiding from the Reach. The stories of what happened if you were captured by Reach still haunted her mind.

The only good thing about the patrol robots was that their footsteps often gave away their location. This one was no exception.

She only bothered to glance at the various rooms as she passed them, most of the rooms appeared to be storage rooms without any windows. At least one of the rooms had to have a window or at least a door to the outside. This was what she got for not checking out the place before settling down to look through all the books.

Her train of thought was interrupted by an onslaught of lasers. A scream of pain escaped her lips as one of the lasers struck her upper left arm. Stumbling forward, she ran into the nearest room. Pressing her back up against the wall, she glanced at her arm. Her hoodie was a little singed where the laser had struck.

As she attempted to move her arm, she cursed. The patrol robot was using stun lasers.

The Reach would get her if she was hit in the back by one of those lasers. Not only that but it was going to be a few hours before she would be able to move her left arm again. Even if she was right handed, not being able to use her left arm would slow her down.

Sheathing her dagger for now, she finally glanced around the room, only to find it to be windowless. However, there was a door that caught her attention. An empty bookshelf that had been knocked over was lying in front of it.

Looking to the doorway besides her, she quickly moved over to the other door. The thundering footsteps were growing closer. She needed to get through that door and fast.

There was no way to go around the bookshelf, so she would have to settle for climbing over it. That was going to be difficult without the use of her left arm. However, it was her only way out of this room. She wasn't foolish enough to try heading back into the hallway.

Placing her right hand on the flat surface of the fallen bookshelf, she pushed off the ground with her feet and leaned forward. With a bit of momentum she was able to get one leg over the other side. Turning slightly she moved her other leg over as well.

Just as she jumped off of the bookshelf, a laser flew past her head, hitting the door. Cursing under her breath, she glanced back to see the patrol robot at the doorway. Reaching forward with her right hand, she grabbed the door handle as an assault of lasers came at her.

With her gaze going back and forth from the door to the patrol robot, she ducked down just as the lasers hit the door. Turning the handle, she yanked the door open before scrambling through and slamming the door shut behind her. She could practically hear her heart beating loudly, almost as if someone was drumming right in her ear. Pressing her back against the door, she blinked slightly; let her eyes adjust to the brighter room.

The brightness of the room meant that the ceiling had caved in or there were windows. Noticing that it was the later, she smiled. Finally, a way to escape the library!

She jogged over to the windows, trying to figure out which one would be the easiest one to open with just one hand. From the looks of it the last window on her right appeared loose enough. Her gaze drifted over to the door she entered through before moving to stand in front of the window.

As she started to push the window up, a blur flew past the windows outside. Before her thoughts could even process what the blur could have been, there was a brown haired boy standing in front of the window outside. Blinking in surprise, she took a step back.

Before either of them could say a word, the sound of snapping wood filled the air. Her gaze instantly went to the door before looking back to the boy.

"Help me get this window open!" She said loudly, panic in her voice. If he spoke a reply, she didn't hear it. She was too focused on getting the window open as well as the sound of wood snapping. The patrol robot had to be by the door by now.

At that thought the window was finally opened and just in time too.

The patrol robot came crashing into the room, the wooden door easily snapping from the force.

With her panic rising, she climbed through the window with the help of the brown haired boy. She was thankful for his help. After all, she doubted that she would have been able to open the window by herself before the patrol robot came into the room. However, there was no time to thank the boy.

She landed on the ground with a small thud, glancing back only to see the patrol robot firing lasers in their direction. Before she even got the chance to look back at the boy, she was scooped up into his arms and the next thing she knew, wind was hitting her face. She closed her eyes to keep them from watering due to the force of the wind.

Then all of a sudden the wind stopped and she realized that the boy had stopped running. Opening her eyes, she looked at him, staying silent as she was placed on her feet. Off in the distance she noticed the city.

"Thanks, for helping me out."

"No problem. Getting captured by the Reach isn't crash at all."

With a small smile she nodded her head. He was certainly right about that. Being in the hands of the Reach wasn't crash at all.

"So who exactly do I owe my thanks to?"

"The name's Bart."

"Well, thanks again Bart. I'm Alexandra, but I prefer Alex."

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Echo: And that's chapter 2! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Echo: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favored, and decided to follow this story! I meant to have this up earlier, but I got caught up with a few things. To nequam-tenshi: Thank you for reminding me about Bart's hair color, I'm not sure why I thought it was red when I was writing that part.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

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"_So who exactly do I owe my thanks to?"_

"_The name's Bart."_

"_Well, thanks again Bart. I'm Alexandra, but I prefer Alex."_

After explaining to Bart what happened in the library, Alex learned what he had been doing in the area. Apparently, Bart was on his way into the city to look for food when he heard a loud noise coming from the library and ran by to see her by the window.

Running a hand through her hair, she let out a small sigh as she looked back at the city. "They'll be searching the entire city for us."

"Of course they will, but they won't find us."

"So you know somewhere we can hide?"

"That's correct. Just follow me."

"Alright, lead the way." Alex said, gesturing for Bart to lead. The speedster nodded his head as he started walking. Alex followed behind Bart, staying silent as they walked.

Words would be pointless at this point. With silence around them it was easier to keep alert. The smallest sound could easily alert them to income danger. At the thought of danger, Alex couldn't help but wonder if Bart would be able to hold out on his own against an opponent.

Hopefully, she wouldn't have that answer for a while.

After an hour of walking, she was tempted to ask Bart where they were going when he stopped. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced around, noticing nothing but ruins of former buildings that once stood proudly.

"So, where exactly is this hiding place of yours?" Alex questioned. She was doubtful that the ruins were the hiding place. Only snakes or rats could hide in the ruins.

"Right here, of course. Just underground though." Bart said as he knelt down, moving aside a manhole cover.

Well, that certainly made sense. The Reach would never think to look in the sewers for them. Although, she was weary of hiding out in the sewer. Then again, most of the time she would always hideaway in abandoned buildings that were on the verge of collapsing.

By the time she pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, Bart had managed to get the manhole cover off to the side.

"Well after you, Alex." The speedsters said, gesturing to the sewer opening.

With a sigh, Alex ran a hand through her hair. "Here goes nothing." She muttered. Walking over to the sewer opening, she glanced at Bart before starting to climb down. By the time she was half way down, she could smell something that was certainly rotten.

Alex had to remind herself that this was a sewer and there would be rotten smells down here. Once her feet touched the bottom, she looked back up. "Are you coming down, Bart?" She asked loudly.

"Yeah, I just have to move the cover back first." Bart replied, just as loud.

Nodding her head, Alex glanced around, squinting a little due to the lack of light. Her gaze drifted up when she heard the manhole cover set back in place. With the large source of light now gone, she found it even harder to see.

By the time Bart was standing next to her, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

"Once we going in a bit further, we'll be safe enough." Bart said, pointing at one of the various tunnels. Alex simply nodded her head and once again they were walking.

It was strange and she was sure it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, but in the distance, she could see a light. The more they walked forward, the closer the light got. Alex glanced back and forth at the light and Bart. Either, he didn't notice the light or he knew exactly what it was.

The closer they got to the light, the more she could make out what looked to be a makeshift tent. It didn't take them much longer to reach the makeshift tent. Her eyes widened when she noticed there was more than just one makeshift tent in the large area. There had to be at least several other tents and of course, there were a number of other people down here with them.

"Well, here we are; Home sweet home." Bart said a smile on his face.

"Wow. It's almost like a small village down here." Alex said softly, mainly speaking to herself.

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Echo: A bit shorter than I intended, but this chapter gave me a bit of difficulty. But, I hope you liked it! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Echo: I wanted to get this chapter up sooner, but the first part gave me a bit of trouble.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

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_The closer they got to the light, the more she could make out what looked to be a makeshift tent. It didn't take them much longer to reach the makeshift tent. Her eyes widened when she noticed there was more than just one makeshift tent in the large area. There had to be at least several other tents and of course, there were a number of other people down here with them. _

"_Well, here we are; Home sweet home." Bart said a smile on his face._

"_Wow. It's almost like a small village down here." Alex said softly, mainly speaking to herself._

"Well, with the Reach controlling everything above, a lot of people decided to move into the sewers. It's not the greatest, but at least we're safe down here." Bart said.

Just as Alex was about to speak, a blond haired man approached the two of them.

"Back already Bart? And who's the girl?" The man asked, looking at Alex a bit skeptically.

Bart looked to the man and nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm back already Peter. And this is Alex. I helped her escape from a patrol robot."

"If Bart hadn't shown up I probably would have ended up in a work camp with a control collar around my neck." Alex said, confirming what Bart had said. The worst thing that could have happened to her if she got caught was end up in a lab being a test subject. No one wanted that fate.

Peter nodded his head a bit grimly. No one wanted the fate of being caught and tossed into a working camp. "Well, it's good that Bart went out when he did then. We can't let the Reach get any more of us."

The Reach had captured a number of both meta and non humans, since they had declared war on the planet Earth. The numbers had only increased once the aliens had conquered Earth. Only a small number of those humans had shown up in the work camps, the rest were never seen or heard of again. It was only through the words of the ones who had been let go that everyone gathered an idea of what the Reach had done to them.

Stories were spread through word of mouth and as all stories told to one from another, exaggerations were made and fear was etched into the people's minds. Those who had truly let the fear cloud their minds were caught by the patrol robots and tossed into work camps. Everyone else in partial control of their fear, succeeded in hiding.

There were a small number of other humans who feared being caught, simply because they found security in a hiding place. Alex fell into these lines. While moving around was risky, so was staying in one place. It was simply one reason why she preferred to move around. The other reason was because as she moved around, she could gather information.

"How long has all of this been down here?" Curiosity was obvious in Alex's voice as she spoke.

"I think a number of years, right Peter?" Quick to answer, Bart replied.

Peter nodded his head at the speedster's words. "Yeah, it's been down here for at least four years. It's a good hiding spot and there aren't many patrol robots in the area. One of the good things about being down here is even if the Reach found us; we have a number of ways to get away."

It was surprising for Alex to hear that the small village had been down in the sewers for about four years. There was also the fact that they seemed to have a plan in case the hideout was discovered by the aliens. She had come across a few hideouts during her travels and not one of them was as good as this one appeared to be.

After receiving that small history lesson of the hideout; Peter had been called away from them by a few people that needed assistance. The blond had promised to meet up with them sometime later. With that in the air, Bart offered to show her around.

Typically, Alex was quick to move around only staying in one place for a week or two at the most. After all, she hadn't stayed in more than one place since she was about ten years old. She wasn't sure how long she would end up staying in this hideout, but it was nice of Bart to show her around.

-Line-Break-

A lone figure in a dark cloak walked down a long hallway, the only sound being the figures footsteps. Once the figure reached the end of the hallway, a hand was raised and upon the motion, the wall opened and the figure continued on gracefully. As soon as the figure was in the new section, the wall closed, preventing those unwanted to move forward.

After traveling down yet another hallway, the figure came to a stop within a throne like room. A member of the Reach was seated on the chair in the center of the room. "My lord, we have footage of a speedster from one of the patrol robots in our eastern sector." The figure said with a deep voice.

"I thought that I told you to make sure all meta-humans with the power of speed were put down, but apparently I thought wrong General. You will receive punishment for this and then you will bring that speedster to me."

"I understand my lord..."

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Echo: And that's chapter four! If you want to know why the Reach doesn't want any speedsters around, well you will just have to wait. With that said, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Echo: This chapter is long over due and all I have to say is that life tends to get in the way sometimes. Besides that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

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The domed city was a last resort effort to create a safe haven from the Reach. It took time, careful planning, and the aid of a few remaining heroes to build. And as small as it was, they still had hope.

People built routines in order to cling onto the life that they knew before the Reach entered their lives. Teens were being trained how to fight and use weaponry. No one wanted to say it, but they were in a war that would forever change the face of the Earth.

Journals were kept of various events. It was a way to keep their hopes alive. A way to show future generations that they had survived an invasion. The journals were important, for even if they lost in the end, if they gave up hope, there would be that reminder that they had fought back.

The people of Earth would never surrender.

One day the Reach would leave in terror.

One day they would be able live without fear.

One day things would be back to normal.

That day might not be soon, but it would come. Deep down, they knew it would come and they wouldn't stop fighting until that day arrived.

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Peace had gone on for too long and it had been a quiet morning when the Reach finally destroyed the dome that protected one of the last cities.

Those who first witnessed the attack, screamed in terror.

People hid their fear as they charged at the Reach with weapons. One thing had been clear from the beginning. They would not go down without a fight!

It didn't matter if they were outnumbered, they had to fight.

Some ran, trying to get as many people away. Survival for the human race was key. Children and the elderly were lead by those who could no longer fight.

The Reach were quick to show no mercy on those who tried to escape, making an example out of half of the attempted escapees. The rest were taken captive.

Those who were at the back of the fight shouted for whoever remained to escape, to go into hiding.

In under two hours, the peaceful domed city had been turned into ruins. Half of the people had either been captured or killed. The attacking liines were growing thinner and thinner by the minute.

By the end if the third hour, the city was a ghost town as Reach ships flew away with their new meat-bag slaves.

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Echo: It's a short chapter, but it's also an important chapter! It will be explained in time, I promise! So, please review and tell me what you think~


	6. Chapter 6

Echo: It's been a while since I've touched this story, so I guess that means it's time for an update!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

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A month had passed since Alex had first encountered Bart. Every day she stayed in the underground village was a surprise to her. Never before had she stayed in one place for so long. Or even with so many people.

It was a bit comforting, but each day it was making her more aware of her surrounding, more alert, and more nervous that the Reach would find them. The Reach always found hidden camps and villages. It was almost a matter of time before this one went up in flames. Some of the people in the village simply thought she was being paranoid.

However, being paranoid had kept her alive. The people in this misfit village had become too relaxed and too comfortable within the sewers. Alex had spoken about that thought to Bart one night.

"_You know the Reach will find this place one day, right?" Alex said, keeping her voice down to a whisper. She was sure if one of the villages heard her they would spread panic. It would make them almost as paranoid as she was; though it was a blessing and curse._

_A frown appeared on Bart's face as he shook his head. "This place has been here for years and they have yet to find it. There's no way that they can possibly find it." The speedster replied._

"_You don't…you don't know that! The Reach took down the Domed City as soon as they found a way! For all we know, the Reach could already know of this village and are just waiting for the right time to attack!" Alex hissed._

_She had seen Earth's last safe haven, the Domed City, be destroyed. It may have been ten years ago, but the event was burnt into her mind._

_Bart was silent for a moment before he spoke, turning his gaze away from Alex. "If the Reach knew of this place then they would have done something already. Half of the people here are meta-humans after all."_

The next few days after that conversation were slightly awkward between them. And then Bart started speaking as if that conversation had never happened.

He was either ignoring what Alex had said about the Reach or he had realized the truth to her words. Paranoia tended to do different things to people.

**L-I-N-E-B-R-E-A-K**

The sound of restlessness filled the air of the room in the form of slow tapping fingers. The impatient being causing the nose was seated in the highest chair in the room. Sending a glare to the nearest guard, the being let out a growl loud enough to catch the guard's attention. "Find out what's taking those damn scouts so long!"

"Yes Ambassador!" With those two words the guard saluted before scurrying out of the room as fast as possible. The wrath of an ambassador wasn't something you wanted to see.

Ever since a speedster was spotted a month ago, the search had been on for the meta-human. They managed to capture a few other types of meta-humans. However, the speedster still managed to escape their grasp no matter how far the search was spread. It was starting to make the Ambassador more frightening than usual.

**L-I-N-E-B-R-E-A-K**

"I still don't see why you have to come with me. I mean, you're only going to slow me down." Bart said as he glanced over at Alex.

Shaking her head slightly at the speed pun, she turned her gaze to the speedster. "Well, for one, I haven't been outside that much in a while. Two, I could really use some fresh air. Lastly, I just needed to get away from the village for a bit and this was the best option to come outside." She replied, glancing around the wide open space.

It felt good to be outside. However, her paranoia was kicking into overdrive. After a month of not having to look over her shoulder every number of steps, it was bad. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Ignoring it was hard, but she was sure it was only because they were out looking for food as well as scouting the area.

So far, there wasn't any sign of the Reach. Of course, there weren't any signs of possible food either. With the attack on Earth; fruit, vegetables, and livestock had become hard to find. Just finding enough food for one person was hard. Finding enough food for a small village was near impossible. That was why Alex preferred to travel alone. It was much easier to find food for just one person rather than an entire group of people.

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Echo: That's the end of this chapter. So please review and tell me what you think!


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